An artisanal Gluten-Free Sourdough Boule made with multigrain flour. This bread has a slightly crusty, charred exterior and a soft crumb. Gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, vegan recipe.
For all of you sourdough lovers out there, I have today a beautiful boule made in a dutch oven. It's a great bread, good for sandwiches or for dunking into soups and stews or throwing on the grill.
And I love the way it looks, so artisanal, with that amazing cracked top.
The combination of flours I use in this bread is very similar to what I used for my multigrain sandwich bread, which is baked in a loaf pan. But there's more sourdough in this boule -- a cup and a half to be exact, and when baked in the dutch oven, you get a slightly crustier bread that's quite amazing.
These are the ingredients you will need to make the perfect Gluten-free Sourdough Boule:
- Gluten-free Sourdough Starter
- Millet Flour
- Buckwheat Flour
- Tapioca Flour
- Rice Flour
- Xanthan Gum
- Salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Sugar
- Apple Cider Vinegar
If you're not used to making gf sourdough breads, this may seem like a lot of ingredients, but once you get the flours, you can use them for multiple batches of bread. Also, the grains add amazing flavor, in addition to the great flavor of sourdough.
If you eat gluten-free, you know how expensive sourdough breads are. Making your sourdough bread at home not only saves you a lot of money, it also gives you a bread free of preservatives and all of those other awful things you don't want to put in your stomach.
How to make the perfect Gluten-Free Sourdough Boule
- Make sure your sourdough starter is at least a week old and strong, as in it has a good amount of bubbling and it puffs up a few hours after feeding. If you have a mature starter, feed it at least twice the day before you bake this bread.
- Knead your bread until all the flours are well incorporated. You don't need to knead sourdough breads for too long, but I like to give it at least three or four minutes in the stand mixer to make sure I have the right texture.
- The right texture for your boule dough would be slightly tacky but not so sticky or loose that you can't work with it.
- Your gluten-free bread needs just one rise, unlike bread made with wheat or other flours that have gluten. You will need to preheat your dutch oven inside the oven to get it to the right temperature for your bread.
- You can experiment with other flours, but I find that the mix I used her produces a great, flavorful result, so I would advise sticking with it.
What do you serve the Gluten-Free Sourdough Boule with?
This boule, although slightly crusty, is extremely easy to slice and it has the perfect crumb for a sandwich bread. But you would do just as well grilling it and then slathering it with vegan butter or olive oil, or serving it alongside a soup or stew.
Let's get started with this bread, then. If you make it, be sure to leave a comment below or tag me @holycowegan on Instagram. Happy baking!
More gluten-free breads from the blog:
- Gluten-Free Multigrain Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- Vegan Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread
- Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread
More bread recipes from the blog:
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Gluten-Free Sourdough Boule recipe:
Gluten Free Sourdough Boule
Equipment
- Stand mixer or large bowl, 3 to 4 quart dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups gluten-free sourdough starter
- 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar (or maple syrup or any sugar)
- 1 cup warm water (not hot)
- 1 cup nondairy milk (I used almond)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 cups millet flour
- 0.5 cups buckwheat flour
- 0.5 cups tapioca flour
- 0.5 cups rice flour
- 2 tablespoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Whisk the apple cider vinegar into the nondairy milk.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, or in a large bowl if kneading by hand, place the sourdough starter. Add the sugar, warm water and almond milk mixed with vinegar and mix together on low speed or by hand.
- Add the flours and xanthan gum directly into the bowl, one by one, kneading a little as you go along so they are thoroughly incorporated. Knead for a couple of minutes until everything is well incorporated and you have a tacky, slightly sticky dough. If your dough looks dry, drizzle in a little more water and knead.
- Drizzle in the oil and knead for a couple more minutes until the oil is absorbed.
- Remove the dough to a countertop and knead slightly before shaping into a boule. You might want to oil your hands lightly before handling the dough. It should be slightly tacky but still quite supple.
- Place a parchment paper inside a bowl (I just use my stand mixer bowl for this) and sprinkle it liberally with any of the gluten-free flours (I used the rice flour)
- Place the boule on the parchment, cover loosely with a kitchen towel (or a shower cap), and place overnight or about 10 hours in a warm place, like the oven with the pilot light on.
- About a half hour before baking, preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit with a 3 or 4 quart dutch oven inside it. Carefully, taking all the precautions you need and with oven mitts on, remove the dutch oven to the countertop. It will be screaming hot so be very, very careful handling it and do not touch the surface at any time without your mitts on.
- Carefully, pick your boule up by the parchment paper and roll it quickly into the dutch oven, so the seam side at the bottom is now on top. Cover with the dutch oven lid and place it back in the oven.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid and turn the heat down to 450 degrees. Bake another 20 minutes.
- Remove the dutch oven to a rack and let it stand until it is completely cool. The bread should unmold quite easily but if it doesn't, run a knife along the sides of the pot to help it along.
Bill F.
Hi Vaishali,
I am an experienced gluten free baker but brand new to sourdough. I've made three loaves now with your wonderful recipe and instruction. I'm getting great flavor and a wonderful crumb but I'm not getting an oven spring or dome (rounded top) to my boule. All the rise comes in the fermenting and my loaves are flat. I've bought a 2 quart dutch oven and that supports the sides better so my last bake was higher but still flat on top. I hope you have some ideas for me? Thanks for your wonderful website.
Sara
I wanted to make this tonight and I'm out of apple cider vinega. Can I white vinegar instead?
Vaishali
Yes!
Debra Hakman
I'd like to make this bread. i have active starter, but I don't have a stand mixer nor do I have a dutch oven. Would mixing by hand work ok? And what do I cook the bread in instead if I don't have a dutch oven? Thank you so much in advance for your help. Can't wait to make this bread!
Tessa
She has a similar recipe she makes in a loaf pan called “Gluten Free Multigrain Sourdough Sandwich Bread.” I believe she has it linked on this page. However, I don’t think you would get the same type of crust.
As far as hand mixing goes, I haven’t done it, but I assume you can as long as everything is properly incorporated.
Priscille
I make this bread twice a week, without fail. I use three cups one to one flour blend (King Arthur or Bobs Redmill usually). I make it in the stand mixer, and let it mix for at least 3 mins. I never take it out of the bowl, I just scrape the sides and smooth it into a round shape using a spatula, then leave it to rise overnight. Never had any trouble and it’s perfect every time. Oh, I cook 35 mins covered and 20 uncovered. Different ovens vary. That’s just what works for me.
Wendy
This is an incredible recipe and so easy. I've made it half a dozen times now with various fours in exchange for the millet (oat and quinoa) all turned out well. I've also made cinnamon raisin bread with this recipe by adding 3 Tbsp cinnamon and 1 1/4 cup of hydrated raisins. Amazing! Thank you.
Tejal
hi! can you tell me how you added the cinnamon raisin to this? I'd love to try it this week.
Nancy
My daughter and I have been using permutations of your sourdough gf recipe for several months now. It’s our quarantine staple. We’ve upped the fiber with psyllium and flax seeds and increased covered cooking tome to 50 minutes to get interior fully cooked. Perfect Boule everytime.
Lindsay
When you use the 1 to 1 mixes, do you still add the 2 T xanthan gum?
Conan
For those experiencing problems, I've made this twice with drastically different results. The first was a super dense vinegar abomination. The second was beautiful, springy and crusty. Disclaimer: in both cases I used a starter fed with all purpose flour.
I suspect variability in almond milks may be a culprit and trying to achieve kneadability as per instruction.
Below are my thoughts on why I believe this - despite making other mistakes the first time. e.g. I used 1 tbsp ACV instead of 1 tsp, I substituted xantham with guar, and when the dough would not form into something kneadable I worried that I might have crippled the starter. To remedy I mixed 1/2 tsp baking soda to de-acidify things and 1/4 more fresh starter hoping it would kickstart things - instead I found myself adding more and more flour to a perpetually goopy mess to no avail.
The second time I followed the recipe exactly, switched to a better almond milk (10% almond and 4 simple ingredients vs 3% and all kinds of oils and thickeners) and resisted the temptation to add more flour. The dough wasn't as sloppy but I definitely wouldn't knead it on a surface with my hands - rather apply a little smoothing with the back of an oiled spoon. The boule didn't char quite like the pictures (neither did the no-knead sourdough boule recipe - maybe due to oven), but it turned out amazing.
Cathy
GREAT recipe! I didn’t have millet so used 1 c cassava and 1/2 c oat flour instead. Mine got pretty brown/burned on the bottom at 500 in my cast iron Dutch oven so next time will lower to 450 and see how it works out. I have baked bread in the parchment paper before and should have done it this time to help with burning Great flavor and texture!
Kerry
I have an active GF sourdough starter which I just fed last night and put in the fridge this morning. Do I need to do anything to the starter once I take it out of the fridge and before using it in the recipe tonight? Thanks!
Kristin
Could you sub out the almond milk with regular milk? Would you still use the ACV??
Vaishali
Yes, that's fine, and yes, use the ACV.
Laurenteen Brazil
I made successful sourdough starters with Vaishali's recipe twice. The second time came out much better than the first. Not sure why I went with a different bread recipe that was some what of a fail the first time around but found this recipes for bread and particularly gluten-free sourdough bread.... Given the Shelter in Place, I have only found gluten - free all purpose flour in my local grocery store. I am so proud of my second sourdough loaf. It looks beautiful, thanks to you!!! So glad I found you through Google. Thank you for all that you are sharing and creating, truly exciting. Can't wait to try more of your recipes. Can't wait to eat this perfect beauty. Take good care. God bless you and yours.
Enion
I made this bread, with some minor modifications, and it is my most successful, and beautiful, GF sourdough so far! I used sorghum flour instead of millet, and reduced the amount of xanthan gum by 1/4 tbsp. I also let the dough rise, then refrigerated overnight, then did a second hour long rise while heating the oven. For my dry environment (Colorado) the amount of liquid was about right - I may try slightly less next time. All in all, a very successful recipe!
K Knowlton
I have made this 3x now with better success each time. My first loaf following your recipe exactly ended in a very dark dense gummy bread. I have since used 1:1 Bobs Red Mill flour w/ varying amounts of buckwheat & tapioca flour. The added psyllium husk & a few extra Tbs of flour during the oil mixing stage has helped as well I believe. Thank you for a recipe that outdoes all of the gluten free nasty sawdust factory bread I’ve been stuck with in the freezer section of our grocery store.
Denise
I just made this sourdough today and was amazed by how it turned out. I used 3 cups of King Arthur GF flour instead of using the different flours in the recipe but I'm still pleased with how it turned out. I think I may need to bake it a few minutes longer next time. I am wondering if next time I can just transfer the dough into the dutch oven with the parchment paper. The dough lost some volume during the transfer. Is the oven too hot to use parchment paper?
Anonymous
I used parchment with my loaves, and had no problem. I sprayed my loaves with water at the start of baking and at the temp. change - this may be the reason my parchment did not burn.
April Heaslip
I used the parchment with great success; it also keeps the loaf bottom from burning. This is such an amazing and forgiving recipe!
Emily Fesler-Young
Amazing Vaishali! I am so done paying for costly GF loafs, this was incredible! It will be a weekly or bi-weekly bake for me for sure! I enjoyed kneading dough for the first time in over 3 years. So simple and pleasing to bake your own bread.
Just a couple adjustments I made:
I used mixed flours when making the starter.
Instead of buckwheat I used cassava four which I really enjoy. Turned out wonderfully.
I also added 10 minutes to the bake time.
I wasn’t able to achieve the dark finish like you pictures showed. I was wondering if you did something different at the end of your baking to achieve your a pretzel like crust look, or if the darkened was simply achieved using buckwheat flour??
Andrea
Hi!
Mine came out super dense and undercooked in the inside and pale on the outside. It looked nothing like yours. What did I do wrong? I followed the recipe exactly. No substitutions. I even have a cast iron pot, an oven thermometer as well. I did see you said that if I’m able to shape it into a dough then it will come out dense. I definitely was able to shape mine into a boule. Which is what I did, then let it proof for 10 hours. It doubled in size. Should I add more water? Thank you for your time
Vaishali
Hi Andrea, you can try adding more water the next time--lots of different factors can play into how loose or stiff a bread dough turns out, including the atmosphere in your kitchen. As you can see from the other comments, some readers say it's loose, while you had the opposite experience. You can add more water if your bread wasn't airy,and try baking longer next time. If you have a thermometer, you want an internal temperature of around 210 degrees although the temperature is not a reliable way of telling if a bread is done.
Stephanie
Hi! I tried this recipe this weekend and used Spelt (in place of Millet), Oat Bran (in place of Buckwheat), Brown Rice, and Tapioca flours. Taste was great.
As others have mentioned, the dough was very loose...I could not form it, so I left it loose in the mixing bowl to proof overnight and then baked according to your instructions. It was not quite done enough, so I think next time I will use a thermometer at the end of the bake. Do you have any advice on appropriate internal temp for this loaf? It's difficult to know when it is done due to the crust. Or if you have any other suggestions to know how to evaluate when it's thoroughly baked.
Thanks!
Jon
Could you provide weight measurements (in grams) in addition to the cup measurements for the recipe?
Jenny
Loaf turned out great but really strong taste of vinegar. Is the vinegar serving any purpose other than for helping with the sourness or can I just use milk?
Vaishali
You should not get a strong smell of vinegar with just 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar in the whole loaf. The vinegar helps the bread rise, and you need that extra help with gf flours.
Luke D Blue
I have a zillion food intolerances, so I am thrilled to come across this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing it! Unfortunately, I can't eat buckwheat. Any thoughts on what might work as a substitute? (I can't do sorghum, quinoa, amaranth or oat either.) I was thinking maybe brown or white rice flour...?
Thanks!!
Vaishali
Rice flour would be fine, or you could just increase the amount of all purpose gf flour.
Jenny
Hi, this looks like a great bread. I'm in the UK and we generally bake by weight though. Do you know how much of each flour I should use or some more guidance on how to measure in cups? (Eg do I pack it down etc) thanks!
Vaishali
Click the "metric" button at the end of the ingredient list in recipe box to convert to metric.
Jess
I have a ceramic Dutch oven, it is not cast iron. Will that work as well, I’m a little worried about the heat and wonder if I should try to bake it at a lower temperature for longer. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Vaishali
I am not sure how a ceramic dutch oven would work, does the manufacturer have instructions on how high a temp you can place it in? You could try a lower temp at which you feel safe and bake longer, although you may not get as good a rise.
Anonymous
I used a large ceramic casserole for my loaves, at 500, and it worked fine! Alternately you could do the whole bake at 450, taking the lid off the ceramic dutch oven at 30 mins in, and baking directly on the bottom for an additional 10 min.
Deb
This is amazing! I let mine rise at room temperature for several hours then let it sit in my oven overnight. Also baked this for an extra ten minutes (lid off). Oh right, didn't have millet so I used quinoa instead - I think it contributed to a delicious nutty taste.
I've made other vegan gf breads before and they've been okay, but this is hands down the best gf bread I've ever baked. Now to keep myself from eating all of it in two days, LOL.
Vaishali
So happy to hear that, Deb! Great idea to sub the quinoa.
Amber Chavez
Is this baked with the lid on?
Kristin
My question as well. Covered or uncovered Dutch oven?
Vaishali
Covered for first 30 minutes! Then uncover.
Lydia
This is my go-to bread recipe now because it works beautifully. I use 3 cups GF Jules flour (includes the xanthan gum), oatmilk, and maple syrup for the sugar. Don’t forget to add in the salt when you add the dry ingredients, as the recipe instructions don’t mention it specifically. I proof my dough in a bread proofing basket for 10-12 hours and it works like a charm!
Vaishali
Lydia, awesome, thanks for letting me know.
Kevin Meyer
Well, I really wanted this to work and I followed the recipe closely,but it was a disaster. After I had added all the flours, the batch had the consistency of thick pancake batter. I tried adding more dough in quarter cup increments, it got thicker and thicker but never reached dough consistency, I dumped it out on the counter and tried to hand knead it, but it was an impossibly sticky mess. Any idea what went wrong?
Vaishali
Gluten-free dough will be more batter-like -- if it reaches a dough consistency you are going to have a very hard bread. When you bake it in the dutch oven, your bread will take shape and should be fine. That said, a pancake-like consistency is too wet. Keep in mind that if you're working in a humid climate you might need less water, so add only as much water as you need to make a slightly loose dough.
Tanya
Hello,
I had to add more flout as the dough was like a pancake batter when I finished adding all the ingredients. I added 1 c extra rice flour and 1/4 c extra millet flour before I got a loose dough. Any ideas? Has anyone else had this problem?
Vaishali
How much moisture your bread dough requires can be linked quite strongly with the weather in your area. If you're working in a humid climate or kitchen, you'll need less water. Also, keep in mind this dough will be quite loose.
Sandy Olson
hi, I made my dough with Red Mill all purpose baking which hs tapioca in it and buckwheat. My dough came out very sticky so I added more flour until I could work it. Any thoughts. Also I see now that salt was in the ingredients but I did to see it in the directions and left it out. Thanks for any help.
Vaishali
Hi Sandy, the dough for this boule will be quite sticky and you may have to add more flour depending on the humidity in your area. Using oil on your hands while shaping also helps.
Tessa
Hi Vaishali - this looks absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to try it! I came across your site while searching for advice on how to veganize an old family yeast bread recipe that is heavy on dairy and egg ingredients. The milk and butter is simple enough, but I’m not sure what to do about the four eggs. It is called Vánočka - a bread made for Christmas (and also Easter) in Czechia. It is a sweet braided bread flavored with mace and nutmeg. I am sorry to be posting this question here, but I didn’t see any other way to contact you. I don’t know if flax eggs would suffice. Do you have any suggestions as to what egg substitute would work best to replace the four eggs?
Cathy Connally
Hello Vaishali,
I love your recipe. Is it possible to use Psylium husk instead of Xantham Gum? Thanks
Vaishali
Hi Cathy, I believe psyllium husk can be used as a substitute for xanthan gum, although I haven't tried it myself.